Darkness in the Night
by Zubata82
Summary: Harry, Ron and Hermione are up for a hard year. Starting to be romance. editted to fit OotP plotline
1. Hope for the Hopeless

Author's Notes: This is my first fanfic. I have been reading it forever, and finally got inspired to write one myself. I hope its original, although it may start out as boring, it will be action packed (at least I hope so) Thanks for still reading now. These first chapters have been edited to be correct with OotP details. So if you haven't finished the book. don't read this fic.  
  
Disclaimer: JKR is a goddess and it is through her genius that I have come to borrow such wonderful characters. Don't worry I will return them, without making any sort of profit.  
  
And on with the show..  
  
Darkness in the Night  
  
Prologue: Hope for the Hopeless  
  
Harry Potter lay down in his bed. He had been up studying for hours for a Potions Test with Ron and Hermione. He wanted to sleep, but rest would not come to him. His thoughts would not let him sleep. He had been having nightmares a few nights a week all summer and for the beginning of the school year. He would awake the next morning feeling more tired then when he had gone to bed, and his scar would be throbbing dully. He knew that he should tell Dumbledore, or at the very least Ron and Hermione. He had vowed never to keep secrets from any of them. They were his family and he loved them all dearly, but part of that love was not letting anyone get hurt. Telling them about his problems would hurt them, mostly because they could not help him. Harry wished that he could talk to Sirius. But Sirius was gone now. Harry got out of bed and unwrapped a small package. Harry had long ago repaired the mirror that Sirius had given him. Harry would talk into the mirror and pretend that Sirius was talking back. Sometimes Harry even imagined Sirius' face was indeed looking back at him. "Sirius, I have been having weird dreams again. I want to tell someone about them. But you know that I can't" He knew what their reactions would be if he did tell his friends. Dumbledore's twinkling eyes would fade and he would be genuinely concerned. The Headmaster would try to give Harry the advice he needed to face his problems. However, as much as Harry trusted and loved Dumbledore, he couldn't bring himself to talk to him, the Headmaster had been ill for most of the school year, and Harry did not want the professor to lose any more of his strength by worrying. Ron, he is so easy to figure out mused Harry. Ron would overreact. He would be angry that Harry hadn't told him earlier. Harry was grateful for concern like that, but he didn't want to deal with Ron's short temper. Especially with the Potions test, and a Divination project coming up. When Ron was stressed out about homework, Harry knew not to mess with him. That just left Hermione. Why didn't he tell Hermione? He trusted Hermione to keep a level head in any situation. She would walk across broken glass, crawl through fire, climb a mountain, or even fight a dragon with her bare hands to find the answer to a problem. And most definitely, his visions were a problem. She would understand the best of all of his confidantes. She wouldn't judge or yell, or pity him. Above all else, Harry did not want pity. Maybe I should tell Hermione. Harry had nearly convinced himself when he remembered how tired Hermione had looked that night during their study session. She had had bags under her eyes. She kept chewing her bottom lip as if she were nervous. And although he had never noticed her doing it ever before, she had been biting her nails off. He wished he knew why she was so overworked. There was something more to just her normal study routine, it was a mystery that delved deeper than her writing seven feet on a History of Magic assignment that only needed to be a foot and a half long. Maybe Harry wouldn't tell her after all.  
"I promise Sirius, I will tell someone soon. I will."  
  
***  
  
Hermione had been stressed. Ever since she had had to drop some of her extra subjects in her third year, she had felt like a slacker. She knew that she shouldn't feel that way, but she saw her inability to cope with her extra classes as failure as opposed to a way to keep her sanity. So to counteract her lasting sense of failure, she had asked to do an independent study in Muggle Studies. She was planning on analyzing why wizards thought about Muggle objects in the way that they did. What was their fascination with playing tricks and enchanting muggle objects? Why did some wizards prefer to use non-magic items? She found the ways of wizard thinking fascinating and from growing up as a muggle she had a very different perspective of these inventions. Professor McGonagall had reluctantly agreed to the project. Minerva knew that Hermione would present a wonderful project, but at what cost? Hermione loved her studies, but she was more than a student, and she was obviously giving up a lot of her other aspects in order to do even more schoolwork.  
Hermione's only problem wasn't the additional work; she too was having disturbing nightmares. She could never remember them in the morning, but during the day she would have fleeting glimpses of a dark forest, of brilliant red light, occasionally she would hear a scream, and a sense of failure filled her completely. She knew that she should tell someone about her troubles, but like Harry, she didn't want to cause anyone more problems. She was stubborn, too, she had always had a problem with admitting her weaknesses. She decided she would keep her secret if only for a little while longer.  
  
***  
  
Ron's life had dramatically improved over the summer. Fred and George had somehow come into a lot of money at the end of last year. He supposed Ludo Bagman had finally paid them for their bets on the World Cup. Harry's money had long been spent. And while their joke shop was doing well, opening a second location in Hogsmeade, and the continual demand of having new pranks cost a lot of money. The boys that summer had grown very close and the twins had let Ron help them with their joke-shop dreams. He had thought up Growing Gobstoppers, in which the recipient would sprout thick hair all over their body and would turn the color of the gobstopper. The beauty of the design was that the hair would not fall off unless you ate the entire gobstopper. George had called him a genius and Fred had been moved to tears. Ron was also willing to try any trick. once. Ron had finally felt like he belonged. For once he wasn't struggling in his classes, he had found his place in his family, the world seemed brighter than ever before. In fact, he thought maybe his sight was a side effect of being a guinea pig. The color yellow seemed so vibrant. The sun seemed to shine just for him; it was so beautiful. He didn't know why the color yellow had any significance in his life; he just took the beauty in and let it flow through him. It made him happier. As a matter of fact, he was too happy to notice the sadness and troubles that were affecting Harry and Hermione.  
  
That's it for now. Thanks for reading. Please review. I have always wanted one or two or more. Next chapter will have more action I promise. This is just an introduction of sorts.  
  
Sorry about any typos, I am not a very good proofreader. 


	2. No Rest for the Weary

Author's Notes: Thanks to my reviewer. I am so excited that I have gotten a few, I didn't really expect anyone to read this story. Sorry that this is moving so slow, college bio majors don't have much time. I hope that it will become more action packed soon, I am still trying to set up the story line and decide where I want the story to go. I am also toying with the idea of making it sorta fluffy (H/H) but I don't think its necessary. Let me know in reviews. Anyway on with the show.  
  
Disclaimer: A smart woman in Britain created it If she knew what I did she would throw a fit So I only can borrow Not own, what a sorrow And Snape's a smelly git.  
  
(Just kidding about the smelly git part. With Alan Rickman playing Snape, how could he be anything but hot! I thnk it's the accent)  
  
Part One: No rest for the Weary  
  
Harry slept little that night. When he did rest he had a strange dream about drowning. He was covered in cool blue water, but no matter how hard he struggled he could not get to the surface. He awoke from his nightmare screaming for air. Luckily no one had heard him. "It's a good thing I put that silencing charm on my bed, no will wake up," Harry thought. Harry knew that he was deceiving his friends, but they all had problems too. Neville was still struggling with potions. He had improved dramatically in all of his subjects after being a member of the D.A. it had given him more confidence. However, his grandmother had been sick, and while she wasn't the most pleasant person, Neville needed some family. Dean was still upset about a recent breakup with Lavender Brown and Seamus spent all of his free time practicing Quidditch so that he could be on the Gryffindor team that year. Now that they were seventh years, the only people left on the team were Harry, Ron, Ginny, who had become a chaser and a fourth year named Sarah who had replaced Katie Bell last year. The beaters that had replaced Fred and George had quit at the end of the past year. Having won the Quidditch Cup, they had decided to concentrate on their studies. Harry decided it was time to get out of bed, if he wasn't going to sleep, he might as well study a bit for his exam that day. He went downstairs to see Hermione asleep on a chair with several books on the floor and a quill (rather ruffled) tucked behind her ear. He noticed the bottle of black ink had spilled, and did a quick cleaning charm before she woke up. As he was cleaning he looked through the books, Great Muggle Inventions, Basketball; Quidditch for Non-Magic Folk, and a very thick book entitled Muggle Science; Silly or Super? Harry was confused at her choice in reading, they were all Muggle studies books, and Hermione had dropped that class.  
Harry chose to leave the books and focus on his exam questions. He hated Potions, and the professor too. Snape seemed to never forget the fact that Harry had seen his worst memory, and while Harry had tried to apologize once to appease Dumbledore, Snape hadn't shown any sign of forgiveness. The last thing Harry looked at was the ingredients for a potion that permanently cured baldness but had a nasty side effect of making Toe Hair thicker and longer. Must be some of this in Fred's Growing Gobstoppers, thought Harry as he got ready for the day  
  
***  
  
Hermione awoke feeling very groggy. and angry. She had meant to work on the outline for her independent study at least until three that morning, but she had fallen asleep at one. She feared that she would fail her project and she had only just started it. "No use worrying about it now, I have to get ready for classes" she thought. She rushed to get dressed and go to breakfast. As she opened her trunk to get something to wear, her eyes started to burn and then returned to normal after a minute. She tried to find out what had affected her and saw only a red shirt that she had received in a package from her mother and her set of school robes. She justified that strange sensation by blaming it on a lack of sleep, "I'm just tired, my eyes need a rest". And with that Hermione rationalized and forgot the pain and went on to the Great Hall.  
  
***  
  
Ron awoke feeling refreshed. He got dressed quickly seeing that Harry was already awake. He wanted to owl Fred and George as well. He had thought up another brilliant idea, a never emptying cup. One could fill it with any beverage one chose, but they would not be able to drink it. No matter what was done to the cup, holes punched in them, or tipped upside-down, the liquid would never come out. It would be a great prank to play on the Slytherins. He dressed in a hurry, not bothering to tie his favorite red and yellow tie and ran to breakfast to get a quick bite to eat and off to DADA before he had to take his potions test.  
  
***  
Remus Lupin stood in front of his class of Seventh Year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, excited for the day's lecture. Over the past year, he had loved teaching and was glad that he was able to teach again. An advanced Wolfsbane potion had been invented and now he only transformed if he saw the full moon, which wasn't very difficult. He was able to devote all of his time to his students and all of them (except for certain Slytherins) had to admit he was the best professor in the school. He had taught the seventh years everything that was in the most advanced books, and had gone to the restricted section the night before class to find out something interesting that would benefit them either on their N.E.W.T.S or in the future. Something had pulled him to a bottom shelf on the very end of a row. There was a tiny pamphlet in a leather case that read "The Effect that Happiness has on Dark Wizards" by Salub Bumble. It was published in 1943 and did not appear to have ever been read. The pamplet mentioned auras and emotions, and the strange effects that emotions had on light and dark wizards. Remus Lupin had found his next assignment for the seventh years.  
  
Thanks for still reading. The story is starting to pick up I think. Please review! 


	3. The Light, the Heat

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is a deity, she sparkles with the light of a thousand suns. If only I could be her, but I am not, so I own nothing, I only borrow. Please remember that I am a poor college student and have no money. I only pay homage to the Harry Potter goddess.  
  
The Light, The Heat  
  
Again, Harry woke up screaming. It felt good to get the air into his lungs as he breathed heavily for a few minutes. He couldn't understand why he was having continual nightmares about drowning. He had learned how to swim after his fifth year when the Weasley's invited him for a family reunion on a beach for a week. He smiled at the memory, his first true smile in several days. He remembered the Weasley's with their flaming hair splashing in the cool blue water. He remembered that magical moment when he first felt his hands and feet gliding in the water and he felt that he could do anything. He decided that he wasn't going to sleep any more that night and again decided to work on his Divination project. As much as he despised Trelawny, she had made her third right prediction at the end of his sixth year. She had said to him that he would never know true terror until he looked into fire red eyes. His last encounter with You-Know-Who had been his closest call yet. He still did not remember exactly what happened to him, only Dumbledore really knew what Harry had gone through, the aged wizard had decided to spare Harry the gruesome details. Harry shivered at the thought that Albus who knew the depths of Harry's courage did not think that the boy turned man could handle the news. Harry was still slightly angry at him. Harry thought that Dumbledore would now longer hold anything back from him after the events at the end of the fifth year. Harry told himself that he would have to find out the truth by the end of the week, before he lost another loved one.  
Harry entered the lounge to see Hermione studying, although it was early in the morning, she was pouring over books. "Hermione, what are you still doing up? You told me that you were going to try and get more sleep." Harry's voice was tender as he whispered in her ear.  
She jumped at the intrusion, only to relax as she realized it was her Harry. "I know, but I was making a breakthrough in my independent study, I found this amazing chapter in Frida Underhill's Inventions of Muggle Mad Scientists, you would never believe how wizards believed that Edison invented the lightbulb. They thought that Ed.iiii."  
Hermione was caught off by a large yawn. Harry noticed how tired she really was, and seized the opportunity to close the book after carefully placing a bookmark in between the pages, and gently lifting Hermione off the chair and sitting on one of the large couches, keeping her in his lap. "You need a break" Harry sighed, "We are always studying, we never just talk anymore. I miss the fact that we don't share everything like we used to, I don't even really talk to Ron anymore, unless it is about the Quidditch season."  
Hermione knew that everything he said was true. She also missed talking to her two best friends. She wanted to tell Harry how much she missed him, she suddenly felt uncomfortable laying on top of Harry, she moved to the other end of the couch, missing his warmth as soon as she left. "I've missed you too Harry." Her voice surprised her, it was barely audible, usually she talked with so much more confidence.  
Harry sensed that something was wrong, sat up and leaned toward her. As he was inches away from her face he noticed something. The fire was flickering in her eyes, giving them a reddish glow. He jumped off the couch, finally realizing that Trelawny's prediction was not about You-Know- Who, it was about Hermione. He was in love with her, and he was terrified.  
  
Hermione had also pulled away at the same moment as Harry. She too had seen the glow in the firelight in Harry's eyes. The lack of sleep and her memories of her nightmares gave her a sharp headache. She felt like the space between her eyes was on fire, and all that she could see was burning red flames.  
Harry realizing that he had been rude, turned around and started talking to her. "So, I heard Lupin's next assignment is going to be our best one ever. He told me he came across an old pamphlet that would really give us a whole new insight into defending ourselves against."  
He stopped short as he looked at Hermione, rubbing her temples, seeming to be in pain. He picked her up for the second time that night and carried her up to bed. He didn't know why the stairs did not turn into a slide for him. Perhaps they could sense his good intentions, but he remembered how many female students had demanded to be treated as equals and to be trusted. He supposed that lifting the jinx on the steps was one way to remedy the old-fashioned idea of women not being able to protect themselves. He knew he still wasn't technically allowed in the Girl's rooms, but everyone else should be asleep, and even if they were awake he figured they would have the good sense to leave him alone. He placed in her bed, seeing her pristine trunk and Crookshanks curled on the foot of the bed. He gently placed her down in the bed. Drew the comforter around her, and gently kissed her forehead, the precise spot that she had felt that intense pain. She felt instantly relieved. He left without a word, and Hermione feel into a dreamless sleep. One lone Gryffindor girl saw Harry slip out of the room between a slit in her curtain, she also noticed the slight sway in the panels that hung from Hermione's bed. She giggled quietly to herself, and tried to sleep, but formulating a plan to finally get the man of her dreams.  
  
* * *  
  
Harry got up early the next morning, finding an hour's respite on a Gryffindor couch after staring into the fire for twenty minutes. He snuck down to the kitchens, where the elves were more than happy to give him a large basket of muffins and fruit, Hermione's favorite breakfast. He had turned off her alarm the night before, so she could get a little extra sleep before double DADA lessons that morning. He also went out to the Hogwart's grounds and picked some lovely flowers, the last few that Professor Sprout had enchanted to stay fresh until the first snowfall. As he returned to the common room, he saw Lavender Brown laden with makeup starting to head to breakfast. "Oh Harry, could you wake up Hermione for us. She didn't set her alarm, and none of us had the heart to wake her, she finally looks a little rested. Thanks, LOVE." She ran out of the room, and Harry almost swore that he heard a giggle escape her mouth. His plan had worked. He quickly ran up the stairs and entered the Seventh Year's room. He gently shook her awake. She suddenly sat up, crying, "Oh no, I missed all my classes. I am going to fail!"  
"Shh, Hermione, you are not late at all. We let you sleep in. But I brought you breakfast, so you can dress fast and eat here, and still have plenty of time to get to class." Hermione noticed the flowers in the basket, and sighed quietly. She knew that she should feel very awkward about the night before and the fact that he had kissed her the night before, but she instead she just felt content. She ate quickly, ignoring his intent gaze, and got dressed in the bathroom. They walked to class and Harry carried her books, and Hermione surprised herself even more when she held out her hand for him to hold as they went to learn about Lupin's next big idea.  
  
End of Chapter three  
  
- I promise that the action will start to pick up in the next chapters You will find out what Harry saw at the end of his last year You will find out who the mystery girl is and who is her dream guy You will get a few surprises I hope that you like this chapter, I know I haven't updated in forever, so let me know if you want me to continue. I do have some ideas, just not much time . Review if you want. I never realized how important reviews were until I attempted fan fic myself. 


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